1. Field
The invention is included in the field of on-line sales of software products through a data network, for example, the Internet.
According to an aspect of the embodiments, a process, including an apparatus and computer readable medium thereof, of on-line sale of software product use licenses through a data network, are provided by:                offering online each of said software products to be downloaded online, by a plurality of vendor sites;        offering for purchase online a use license for one of said software products offered by one of said vendor sites and downloaded on-line; and        authorizing activation of said use license on-line by a licensing site different from said vendor sites.        
The embodiments also comprise a software component which allows carrying out said process, including the apparatus and the computer readable medium thereof.
In the sense of this description and of the attached claims, software product refers to a product formed by a set of instructions which can be loaded in the memory of a computer and can be executed individually or in combination with another software product. According to this definition, a computer program, an installation program installing a program in the computer, a package for updating a computer program, an installing file downloading a computer program or an updating thereof on-line, a computer program library, etc. are examples of software products.
A site refers to any computer installation associated with a data network service providing a virtual site connected to the data network and able to exchange information and services on-line with other sites through said data network. According to an aspect of an embodiment, when the data network is Internet, the vendor sites and licensing sites can be websites comprising a main webpage identified by a URL address.
A software component is understood to refer to a set of instructions which can be loaded in the memory of a computer and incorporated in a software product to be executed together with the latter and provide specific functions. According to this definition, a dynamic library, a class or set of classes, a control or class with a graphic interface, a set of functions or any other type of software module are examples of software components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Software manufacturing companies currently sell their software products both by direct sales from their own websites and by indirect sales through their distributors.
In the case of direct sales, the purchaser usually downloads a software product from the software company's website and pays for and obtains a use license on-line on said website. Another commonly used option consists of the purchaser ordering the software product on-line on the company's website and the latter sending the software product by mail in the form of a CD or a DVD packed in a box containing a serial number for obtaining a use license.
Indirect sales through distributors allow a software company to multiply its sales channels and drastically reduce or even eliminate its own sales structure. Currently, when the sale is carried out indirectly through a shop or distributor, the software product is distributed in the form of a physical carrier, such as a CD or a DVD, packed in a box containing a serial number for activating a use license. This distribution in the form of a physical product is not very efficient compared to the on-line downloading of the software product from a website because it uses human and energy resources and raw materials.
Other on-line sales systems are known in which a software company advertises its software products on several independent websites which are not connected to it. The purchaser visits one of those websites, selects one of the advertised software products and is then automatically redirected to the software manufacturing company's website where the purchaser can acquire the software product on-line, like in the case of a direct sale set forth previously. In compensation, the software manufacturing company pays the owner of the independent website a commission for each forwarding to its own website. These sales systems are not indirect sales systems through distributors, rather they are similar to the case of a direct sale set forth previously, with the only difference that they allow advertising the products with a greater reach through independent websites. The software manufacturing company continues to support on its own website the necessary structure for carrying out the whole sales process, including the structure allowing downloading the software product, the payment for and the granting of a use license.